Forty Tigers…!

About 20 years ago when I began wildlife photography, I dreamed of going to India to photograph tigers. The rich biodiversity found on the sub-continent is without equal and boasts the largest population of the big striped cat in the world.

My first tiger in India; one of four cubs around ‘Telia Lake’ in Tadoba-Anhari-2013…!

Tiger cubs sparring in Telia Lake, Tadoba-Anhari..a once in a lifetime shot…!

The first photographic book in my library on wildlife is titled ‘Wild India’ by the renowned British photographer, Gerald Cubitt and published by New Holland in London. He traveled all over India capturing most of the wild animals on film including the majestic tiger. The urge to go after this big cat burned in me for many years.

‘Telia lake’ cub up-close on my third morning in Tadoba…!

In late-2009, I photographed an Indochinese male tiger (though the lens) in Thailand from a blind which is a very difficult feat to accomplish. These carnivores are so smart and extremely wary, and tough to see in the wild let alone photograph. I also camera-trapped many tigers in several protected areas situated around the Kingdom.

Tiger cub near the road in Tadoba…!

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve – Maharashtra State – Count: 11 tigers…!

Tiger cub hunting chital at Telia Lake…she was hesitant and missed the deer…!

But the desire to visit India burned in me until I finally made my first trip in April-2013 to Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and National Park. I was with my good buddy Luke Stokes who is an up and coming photographer in his own right, and he lives in Thailand like me. We made the flight from Bangkok to Hyderabad, and then the 9-hour taxi ride to the park. I was finally in the ‘Land of the Tiger’…!

Old ‘Wagdoh’ (Scarface) at Telia Lake…he still is the dominant male in this area…!

At the time, Tadoba was one of the top reserves for tiger sightings in India with four tiger cub sisters growing up around Telia Lake. On our second morning, I managed to get a once in a lifetime shot of two sisters sparring in the water. I was certainly off to a good start.

‘Wagdoh’ on the third morning by the road…!

‘Wagdoh’ at the lake the next day,,,!

The next morning, we bumped into the dominant male and father of the four sisters; old Wagdoh (Scarface) out on the road, and a day later, photographed him at the lake. We also got the other two sisters around the lake during the week. Then, we got a breeding pair over in Tadoba National Park as they went about their natural business.

A breeding pair over in Tadoba National Park…!

On our next to the last day in the park, one of the sisters (the jumping tiger facing me) made an appearance near the road to say goodbye, and I got some wonderful close-up shots of her.

Tiger cub by the side of the road saying goodbye…she is the same tiger facing me in the sparring shot…!

Then in early-2015, I made a second trip to Tadoba and managed to get three tigers including Maya T12, Choti Tara T17 and finally, ‘Gabbar’ or ‘Leopard Face’ T42 that had been injured in a fight with another male tiger.

‘Maya’ or T12, is a mature tigress in Tadoba, 2015…!

‘Choti Tara’ or T17, another mature tigress on the road in Tadoba National Park…!

‘Gabbar’ or ‘Leopard Face’ or T42 with a radio collar cooling off in a pond in Tadoba National Park…he was badly injured fighting with another male…!

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve – Rajasthan State – Count: 6 tigers…!

In November-2014, I visited Ranthambore that is India’s most famous tiger reserve. On the third morning of my 7-day safari, I managed to photograph the very infamous dominant male tiger named ‘Ustad’ or T-24, and then later that day got another male named Zalim or T-25, and one of his cubs (he was looking after two cubs at that time).

The infamous ‘Ustad’….I caught him in Zone 1 on my third day…!

Then the next day, I got Ustad’s son ‘Sultan’ or T-72 two days in a row. Finally, I snapped ‘Krishna’ or T-19, an equally legendary tigress. Shortly after that, ‘Ustad’ was thrown in a zoo (jail) on trumped-up charges of killing a forest guard. It became a world-class scandal. Poor ‘Ustad’ was out and never to be photographed in the wild again..!

‘Zalim’ out hunting…he had left his two cabs in the bush…!

‘Zalim’s’ cub in thick bush. This was the only shot I got of this young tiger…!

‘Sultan’ looking bored in Zone 6…one of my favorite tiger shots….! A huge crowd of hundreds of Indian tourist had should up behind me…!

‘Sultan’, son of ‘Ustad’ the next morning, also in Zone 6…!

‘Sultan’ saying goodbye in Zone 6…!

‘Krishna’, a tigress near the Ranthambore Lake…!

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve – Madhya Pradesh State – Count: 7 tigers…!

When I made my first trip to Bandhavgarh in November-2014, I was not lucky and did not see any tigers over a four-day visit except for some pug-marks. But in early-2015, I made a second trip to the park and on the finale day of my 4-day safari, got a sub-adult male in the morning and then in the afternoon, photographed ‘Dotty’, a very famous tigress in Zone 2.

A sub-adult male tiger in Zone 2 in 2015…a lucky encounter after 4 days of no sightings….!

A tigress named ‘Dotty’ in the afternoon on day four…another lucky shot…!

In early March of this year (2017), I made my third visit and caught a sub-adult male in Zone 3 on the very first afternoon. The next morning, I bumped into ‘Spotty’ (sister of ‘Dotty’) and two of her cubs (8-9 months old) in Zone 1. On my next to the last safari, I bumped into ‘Solo’ in Zone 2, a mature female at distance for a nice tiger habitat shot as she sat in the morning sun looking for prey.

A sub-adult male on my first day in late afternoon on March 2017 in Zone 3….!

On my second day, we bumped into ‘Spotty’ (sister of ‘Dotty’) and her two cubs in Zone 2…!

‘Spotty’s’ cub on the road in Zone 2…!

‘Spotty’s’ other cub following her sibling and mother….!

A tigress named ‘Solo’ out in the morning sun waiting on prey….!

Kanha Tiger Reserve – Madhya Pradesh State – Count: 1 tiger…!

In early-2015, I visited Kanha Tiger Reserve. Sightings were down at that time but I finally was able to catch the ‘Budbudi’ female tiger one morning as she walked, roared and scent marked looking for a mate. She came real close to our jeep and crossed in front of us, and then posed on the other side.

‘Budbudi’ female tiger marking territory in Kanha…!

‘Budbudi’ female on the other side of my jeep…!

Pench Tiger Reserve – Madhya Pradesh State – Count: 8 tigers…!

In early-2015, I also traveled to Pench and on the very first morning, got the ‘Patdev’ female tigress and photographed her again in the afternoon. The next morning, I got a sub-adult male. On the third morning, I managed to get some great close-up shots of the very famous ‘Collarwali’, a female tigress with seven litters and 26 cubs to her name.

‘Padtev’ tigress in Zone 1 on the first morning in the bush…!

‘Patdev’ tigress in Zone 1 in the afternoon (second sighting that day)…!

In early-2016, I made a second trip to Pench and photographed ‘Collarwali’ and her two cubs. Then, I got the famous ’Raiyakassa’ male tiger the next afternoon.

‘Collarwali’ still sporting a collar in the early morning on the first day in 2016…!

‘Collarwali’ yawning out in the morning sun..

‘Collarwali’s’ cub and mother resting in the morning…!

‘Raiyakassa’ male tiger and ‘Collarwali’s’ mate in Pench near the lake on March. 2016

I just finished my third trip to Pench but after four days, I left empty-handed. The Forest Department had just burnt fallen leaves along all roads to create fire-breaks and I believe this pushed all the tigers into the interior. There were no sightings in the park at all since the burning.

Panna Tiger Reserve – Madhya Pradesh State – Count: 2 tigers…!

In early-2016, I also traveled to Panna Tiger Reserve. As most people know, Panna lost all their tigers due to poaching sometime in 2009. The Forest Department decided on a reintroduction program and moved several tigers including a female named T-1 from Bandhavgarh into Panna.

A female cub from the ‘T-1 female’ introduced from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve…!

On my very first afternoon, I was lucky and photographed T-1’s female cub at a waterhole. On my third and final day, I got T-1’s other female cub at another waterhole.

Another one of ‘T-1’s’ cubs. This was on my way out of the park…she said goodbye…!

Corbett Tiger Reserve – Utterakhand State – Count: 3 tigers…!

Of course, no trip to India would not be complete without visiting Corbett Tiger Reserve in Northern East India. This park is named after the very famous Jim Corbett (naturalist, photographer, author and hunter of many man-eating tigers and leopards in India).

In early-2015, I managed to catch a young female tigress chasing chital deer in the Dhikala grasslands not far from the camp. Throughout that day, we saw her several times.

A young tigress in the Dhikala grasslands chasing chital deer…2015…!

‘Parrwali’ tigress near the Ramgangar River with a chital fawn in her jaws…2016…!

Parrwali on ‘Sambar Road’ not far from Dhikala camp…!

In early-2016, I photographed Corbett’s most famous female tiger at the moment named ‘Parrwali’ with a chital fawn kill in her jaws across the Ramgangar River. This is my best shot of a tiger in India so far; predation is tough to get and I was lucky. I then caught Parrwali and an un-named sub-adult male tiger on ‘Sambar Road’ the next two days.

I have just returned from a trip to Corbett in Dhikala and Birjani areas. On the second morning in Dhikala, a male tiger crossed the main road through the ‘Sal forest’ in mid-morning not far from camp and I was able to get some nice shots in the morning sun. In Birjani, I did see the famous ‘Sarmilly’ female tiger in the afternoon on the second day but she stayed hidden for the most part and I did not get a photo.

Kaziranga National Park – Assam State – Count: 0 tigers…!

In Early-2015, I traveled to Kaziranga, one of India’s greatest wildlife reserves with some 2,400 Asian one-horned rhinos, 1,300 wild water buffalos and 1,000 Asian elephants. There are suppose to be about 200 tigers in the park. However, I did not get a tiger but only a set of pug-marks one morning.

Satpura Tiger Reserve – Madhya Pradesh State – Count: 0 tigers…!

In early-2015, I traveled to Satpura but did not see a tiger. They are very difficult to see here.

Vanghat (Private) Eco-lodge – Utterakhand State – Count: 1 tiger…!

I have always wanted to use camera traps in India but the Forest Department does not allow outsiders to do this in any of the tiger reserves, and for the most part is set aside for their own research teams. After some consultations with the owner of an eco-lodge near Corbett, it was decided to set a DSLR camera trap near the Ramgangar River up a mountain ridge line. I managed to get a great shot of a young female tiger on the second night.

Young tigress camera trapped in the Corbett landscape up a ridge line near the Ramgangar River….2016…!

You can say I’m hooked on photographing tigers in India. I’ve just finished my sixth trip and got 6 tigers this time. I look forward to future visits to add more tiger shots to my files.

Note: This number is the actual tigers photographed with some duplication. Nikon D3s, Nikon D4s, D3oos bodies and Nikon 200-400 and Nikon 70-200 Telephoto lenses were used plus a Nikon D3000 for the camera trap shot…!!

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